The federal government should brace itself for a cyberattack in the next 12 months, according to 49% of the IT execs responding to a survey by an anti-piracy and anti-hacking association of software vendors. The Business Software Alliance says a third of the 395 people surveyed between June 5 and June 7 say such an attack is extremely likely. And nearly six in 10 IT pros who specialize in cybersecurity say an assault on federal IT infrastructure is likely in the next year.

Other highlights from the survey:

Almost three-quarter of IT professionals see a gap between the threat of a major attack and Washington's preparedness.

One in three say the government failed to build adequate security measures into its E-government initiatives, while one in four deem them adequate.

Almost 90% agree that as much or more time and resources should be devoted by the government to protect against cyberattacks compared with what was spent on Y2K remediation.